The Child of Anubis - Book 1
by RaisingHeartExelion
Summary: Reposting a new version. Based on Season 0. The twins and singers, Aurora and Makoto Ueda Pax, start a new life in Domino City and meets up with Yugi's group at school. The spirits of the Millennium Puzzle and Earring seems to have a forgotten past and together they punish bad people with the Shadow Games. Yami/OC (Main couple), Yugi/OC/Joey, Anzu(Tea)/OC
1. Welcome to Domino City!

**Hi everyone! I wrote a Yu-Gi-Oh story not so long time ago, but deleted it because I didn't feel like continuing it ****AND**** I always got anonymous reviews which was very disturbing, but now I'm returning with a new version.**

**I have to warn those who have read the old version that this story is going to be different in a few ways. I won't tell so much; you have to find it out yourselves.**

**As usual, this story will begin during Season 0 before I'll start writing Duelist Kingdom. And there will be several made-up episodes for my characters' sake.**

**I will also repost the art of Aurora in her autumn school uniform. Find the link on my Profile.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters! I only own my OCs!

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Domino City!**

There was a huge crowd when my brother and I arrived to Domino City's airport. Why wasn't I surprised? The paparazzi always get the words from anonymous whenever a famous person is going to move to another country.

"Seriously, how far can words spread...?" my brother cold sweated when he saw the media with cameras and mics.

I put on my shades and gave my brother his own shades. "Just act natural and everything will go fine. Yamato is waiting outside by his car ready to help us."

"Okay."

Now when we were properly disguised, our faces hidden with scarfs and shades and wearing hats, we walked through the crowd of arriving people. We made sure to hold hands so we wouldn't get separated accidently.

We made it out and spotted our 23-years old cousin Yamato standing by his silver Volvo S80. He waved to us as we rushed to him with our baggage.

"So you made it through the press, huh?" Yamato smirked, his black shaggy hair being ruffled by the wind.

"Hurry and put our bags in your car, cuz!" my brother snapped.

"Hey, calm down, Mako", I said while Yamato took my baggage and put it in the boot of the car.

"I will calm down until we get to our new home!" Makoto retorted.

"Pipe down, you two, or else people will spot you!" Yamato shushed as he closed the boot. "Get in now."

My brother and I went to the backseats as Yamato sat on the driver's seat and pulled off from the parking place. Both my brother and I let out huge sighs of reliefs and I began messing with my golden earring in shape of the Eye of Horus which was in my right ear.

I am Aurora Ueda Pax, 16 years old and I'm the oldest of my twin-brother Makoto Ueda Pax. We were both half-Japanese and half-Egyptian because of our parents. Mom was Japanese while Dad was Egyptian. Our parents met in Canada where they fell in love and got married and had us. Both Makoto and I had chestnut brown hair in almost same style as Mom while we had blonde highlights and blue eyes inheriting from Dad. The only few things that were different between us were I had pale cream skin while Makoto had tanned skin and our bangs were directly the opposite of each other. My center parting was on the left side of my head while Makoto's was on the right side. And I had waist-long hair while Makoto had let grown his hair to his shoulder blades, but he always kept his hair in a low ponytail to look more manly.

Now you might wonder why we were avoiding the media. That's because Makoto and I were a famous singing duo in Canada. We won a talent show together when we were 12 years old and have been active ever since. Now we were taking a break to adjust to our new hometown and country. The reason we moved to Japan was because Mom got depressed when Dad suddenly disappeared from an excavation in Egypt. The last time we heard anything from him was two years ago with this package he had sent a few days before his disappearance. In the package lied a small golden earring and a letter about the earring. It turned out to be a Millennium Item which had been carried by the child of Anubis, also called the Bringer of Darkness.

So ever since Dad had gone missing, I have been wearing the Millennium Earring every day and discovered a few things about it.

Yamato braked when we had reached his and Grandma's house. It was a traditional Japanese house with two floors and a karate dojo next to it. **(AN: Imagine the house looking like Ito Miura's family house from the manga "W Juliet".)** Grandma Karin Ueda was the owner of the dojo, but had retired a couple of years ago and let Yamato become the new trainer. Makoto and I had been training martial arts back in Canada, so we had skills to take down any stalkers which appeared once in a while.

Mom stood outside by the garage and smiled widely when she spotted me and Makoto. She gave us each a hug when we got out of the car. "Welcome to your new home, sweethearts."

I smiled as I returned the hug and Makoto grinned cheerfully. We both loved Mom so much, but we won't see her so much because she was temporary living in Misakidai City because she worked as a nurse in that city's hospital.

"_Arigatou_, Mom", I replied.

"Thanks, Mom", Makoto nodded.

We grabbed our bags and went inside of the house. We have been visiting a few times during breaks, and everything looked just the same. Makoto and I walked upstairs to our new rooms where the furniture were in place including our music equipment such as keyboards and guitar. Luckily we had separates rooms next to each other.

I stepped into my room and found a package on my bed. I put down the bags and walked over to open the package. I found a school girl uniform consisting of a white shirt with a pink jacket, blue miniskirt and a pair of brown shoes.

I smiled at the sight, but felt like I should add something more to the uniform. I put the package aside and started unloading my bags to sort my clothes.

"_It must feel great to finally be at home_", the spirit of the Millennium Earring spoke up.

I looked up and saw Amaura stand next to me with a small smile. She had the exactly same appearance as me, except she didn't have any highlights in her hair and her eyes were heterochromia. Her left eye was royal blue while the right eye was light green. Apparently she had been living within the Millennium Earring for 5000 years and had lost all her memories. Recently I began having dreams which seemed to be related to Ancient Egypt and Amaura's past.

"Yeah...", I nodded while placing a pile of shirts on the bed. "After several hours of flight and waiting for the next plane... It feels good." Someone knocked on my door. "Come in."

Makoto stepped inside with a package in his arms, "Aura, did you get your own school uniform?"

"_Hai_", I nodded.

Makoto grinned as he placed the package on my desk and held up a dark blue jacket. "I got the boy uniform and it's awesome! It's even in dark blue, my favorite color!"

I laughed nervously. Makoto looked the color blue. Light or dark, no matter as long as most of his clothes were in any shade of blue.

Amaura giggled to herself when we heard the doorbell ring downstairs and Grandma's voice greet someone. Makoto and I looked at each other. Were we expecting guests?

"It's been a while, Karin", an old man's voice said.

"It sure has, Solomon", Grandma replied.

I stopped packing and walked out along with Makoto to see who came visiting. We walked down the stairs and saw an old man in Grandma's age who had a strange star-shaped hairstyle, gray colored, amethyst eyes and long beard. Next to him stood a boy with the same hairstyle, but it was mainly black with magenta edges and had blonde lightning-shaped bangs. The boy had the same amethyst eyes as the man, so it could be his grandson.

I spotted something golden on the boy and saw an upside-down pyramid pendant with the Eye of Horus on. I heard Amaura gasp when she spotted the pendant. Was it another Millennium Item?

"Has your grandchildren arrived yet?" the old man, Solomon, asked.

The boy looked up and gasped when he saw us. "Grandpa, there they are!"

Solomon looked down at his grandchild before looking at the direction where they boy pointed. "Oh, so they _are_ here!" Makoto and I walked over to them with confused expressions. "It's so nice to finally meet Karin's famous grandchildren personally!"

Grandma turned to us, "Aurora, Makoto, this is Mutou Solomon. He is an old friend of mine."

"Hi", Makoto nodded.

"_Konnichiwa_", I bowed slightly.

Solomon laughed happily, "Such good children with good manners." He turned to his grandchild. "This is my grandson, Yugi. Don't get confused by his length because he's in the same age as you two."

"_Hajimemashite_!" Yugi bowed. "I'm Mutou Yugi! I hope we can become friends!"

"Nice to meet ya, Yugi!" Makoto smirked.

"I'm sure we'll be good friends, Mutou-kun", I smiled.

"Which school will you two attend?" Yugi asked curiously.

"Domino High School, of course", Mom replied as she walked out from the kitchen. "It's the closest one in these parts."

"Really?!" Yugi said excitedly. "I'm attending the same school! Maybe we'll end up in the same class!"

Makoto laughed at the boy's excitement, "Let's not have that huge expectation."

"But who knows? Maybe we _will_ end up in the same class", I said.

"Well, we should go and let you guys have your family time", Solomon said. "Besides I've got the shop to look after."

"A shop?" I questioned.

Yugi nodded, "We live in a game shop just by the next street. Come over if you want to play once in a while! I love games!"

"Sounds great", Makoto nodded. "When we won't get busy, let's hang out!"

"_Hai_!" Yugi nodded excitedly.

When Yugi and Solomon left, Makoto and I went back to our rooms to keep packing our clothes. I looked up after a while to see Amaura be in deep thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, Amaura?" I asked.

Amaura snapped out of it and turned to me. "_Well, it's just... That Millennium Item the boy was wearing... I'm sure I've seen it before._"

"Really?" I asked. "Do you think it might help you recover your memories?"

"_I think so..._", Amaura nodded. "_And I think I sensed a familiar presence from the pendant. Someone I knew from the past..._"

"Only time will tell when you'll get your memories."

"_Yes..._"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Luckily Makoto and I had come to Japan on Friday so we had the whole weekend to rest and get to know Domino City. When it was time to go to school on Monday, we dressed ourselves in the school uniforms, except I added a pair of black tight short shorts beneath the skirt. I didn't like miniskirts that could reveal my undergarments. And I had braided my hair into two braids.

Makoto actually looked very handsome with his school uniform, especially when he had every button on on his jacket, but still leaving the first two unbuttoned.

We were standing outside of a classroom holding our school bags. I was getting a bit nervous, but relaxed when Makoto put an arm over my shoulders in comfort.

"Please step inside", the teacher called.

Makoto let go of my shoulder to slide open the door. He let me step inside first before he followed me. We walked up next to the teacher and looked around in the classroom. Most of the students seemed to recognize us while a few of them looked confused. I spotted Yugi in the middle and he smiled widely, probably happy to see we were going to be in the same class.

"I'm Aurora Ueda Pax", I introduced myself.

"And I'm Makoto Ueda Pax", Makoto nodded.

"We recently moved from Canada to Japan..."

"...So we're pretty new with the Japanese customs."

"I hope we'll become good friends."

"And that you'll help us out if we get something wrong with our Japanese."

The students began talking among each other, but most likely gossiping that two singers were attending this school.

"Aurora and Makoto? As in the Canadian singing twins?" a girl said.

"Well, I've heard they were gonna move to Japan, but...", a boy replied.

"Now, now, everyone!" the teacher said harshly. "Take all the gossiping later. Does anyone have a question?"

A boy with messy blonde hair and crimson mixed brown eyes shot up a hand, "Me!"

"Yes, Wheeler?" the teacher said.

"Who was born first among you two?" the boy asked.

Makoto and I looked at each other with grinning smiles. "It's actually me", I replied.

"Let's see...", the teacher mumbled. "We've got two available seats, but there're not next to each other."

I saw one empty seat at the corner of the room next to the windows and the other one in front of us. "Is it okay if I take the seat by the windows, Makoto?"

"Sure! I don't mind sitting by the front", Makoto replied.

When that was decided we walked to our seats and sat down, waiting for the teacher to begin the class after calling out attendance.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

When lunch break finally came, Makoto and I walked up to Yugi and his friends who had gathered around including the blonde haired boy from before.

"Aurora-chan, Makoto-kun!" Yugi smiled widely. "These are my friends!"

"I'm Yugi's childhood friend; Masaki Anzu", the brown haired girl smiled.

"I'm Nosaka Miho! I'm a huge fan of yours!" the bluette girl said excitedly.

"The name is Joey Wheeler! Nice to meetcha!" the blonde boy grinned.

"And I am Tristan Taylor, the honorable member of the beautification club!" the boy with brown haired shaped as one spike smirked.

"Isn't it janitor club?" Joey teased Tristan.

Makoto chuckled, "Hi, everyone! It's nice to have some new friends."

"Will you sign my CDs if I bring them to school tomorrow?" Miho asked.

"I don't see any harm with that", I replied. "How many do you have?"

Miho giggled, "Every single one of yours!"

Makoto and I had made over 20 CDs during our career, so this was a huge shock.

"No way...", Makoto gasped.

"You...sure are one of our biggest fans...", I stuttered.

While we were talking and eating our homemade lunch, I spotted Amaura's spirit talk to a taller and mature version of Yugi. I caught the words such as "Millennium Puzzle's spirit", "Also lost his memories" and "Do they have any connection?".

When the other spirit noticed I could see him, he gave me a small smirk as greeting before keep talking with Amaura.

"So... Will you two keep singing and work on your careers?" Joey spoke up after a while.

Makoto and I stopped eating to look at each other before turning back to the group. "Well... As soon as we get a new manager and adjust ourselves to the new country, we sure will", Makoto replied.

"We will also have tons of paper work to sign on before we can even continue our career", I added.

"And _that_ is the most boring part ever", Makoto groaned.

"Mako, pull yourself together!" I slapped lightly Makoto's head.

"Wow... You two _really_ act like twins", Anzu pointed out.

"How so?" I asked.

"When one of you begin a sentence, the other one will finish it", Tristan replied.

"It's like in the cartoons and anime when twins are being so close", Miho giggled.

"Well... We _did_ attend a few comedy shows back in Canada", Makoto mumbled.

I nodded before continuing eating my lunch. I couldn't remember when the last time I was with friends like this was. When Makoto and I got famous, my so-called friends abandoned me while Makoto got popular with the girls. I felt so left out and lonely, but Makoto remained by my side instead of spending time with the girls. We stood that close to each other. Always had and always will until we separate when we'll start our own families.


	2. Stolen! The Mystical, Super Rare Watch

**I want to make one thing clear; the episodes from 1 to 6 has occurred before Aurora and Makoto came to Domino City, but I like Episode 4 so I will write it.**

**Any episodes with Seto Kaiba will ****NOT**** be included, and I will only write the episodes that I like the most, so not every episode will be included.**

**When I'll write the original episodes, I'll shorten each chapter so they won't be 10 pages long as in the old version.**

**Oh, and check out the link to Makoto's appearance on my Profile! ;)**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters! I only own my OCs!

**Chapter 2: Stolen! The Mystical, Super Rare Watch**

It wasn't that difficult to be at school; Makoto and I weren't chased by fans wherever we went. Maybe because high school students were more mature and leaved us alone unlike how it was in middle school. But Makoto had lots of fangirls giving him love letters and small presents.

We actually became one with Yugi's group and often spent time together until the end of the school days. We even made plans to meet by an arcade this Sunday and get to know each other even more while we would have fun.

I was dressed in a blue skirt with long sleeves, purple pants, light blue vest and a pair of black boots with small heels. I had tied up my hair into a ponytail with a blue ribbon and I was bringing along a white bag with strap resting on my right shoulder.

I was waiting downstairs for Makoto who was struggling with his own clothes. I knew as a girl I should be fussier about clothes, but I had no problems to decide what I should wear. That, however, was Makoto's biggest problem.

"Mako, are you coming or not?" I called.

"Wait a minute! I'm almost done!" Makoto replied.

I sighed, "That's what you said five minutes ago!"

I heard Makoto's running steps reaching the stairs and running down. "Yeah, yeah, stop complaining, sis!"

Makoto was wearing a white shirt with a blue vest, black pants and blue shoes. He had his hair in low ponytail as usual.

"Finally", I sighed. "Sometimes I get a feeling you might be gay."

"I'm not gay, Aura!" Makoto screamed with red cheeks.

I grinned carefully, "I know, I know, calm down."

Makoto sighed, "It's your fault for teasing me like that."

We walked out from the house to the busy streets of Domino City. It was a bit hard to believe to see how crowded this city could be on a Sunday. Many adults looked like they were going to work since they were dressed in suits and office clothes.

When we reached the arcade everyone else were already there, but smiled widely when they saw us. Miho was grinning happily and the reason was Tristan had gotten her a golden wristwatch called D-Shock.

"_Nee_. Isn't it great?" Miho asked.

"It's the first time I've seen a real one!" Joey exclaimed happily.

Makoto snorted, "So what? Both Aura and I have each a rare Swiss Watches Special Variation."

"Mako, don't brag", I glared at him.

"Taylor-kun, you really helped Miho by standing in Miho's place", Miho giggled.

"Friends truly are worth having, right, Miho?" Anzu asked.

"_Honto_! I love you, Taylor-kun!" Mino smiled brightly.

"She said she loves you, Tristan! Aren't you glad you stood in line since early in the morning?" Joey teased.

"Shut up!" Tristan spat embarrassed. "As a beautification member it's only the natural thing to do! Look at the world! People's hearts are dirtied... Purifying those people's heart is the true beautification member's job! In other words, a beautification member must have a pure heart and the greatest kindness."

"Those last few words fits Aura perfectly", Makoto snickered at me.

"M-Mako!" I blushed in embarrassment.

"Although that's kind of overdoing it", Yugi pointed out for Tristan.

"How forceful!" Anzu commented.

"Hey, Miho, can you let me borrow that?" Joey asked.

"This D-Shock?" Miho questioned.

"_Kora_, Joey! Are you listening to me?!" Tristan shouted.

"Just while we're here", Joey completely ignored his friend. "I just want to wear it once in my life."

"Okay. Just don't get it dirty, all right?" Miho smiled as she was taking off the wristwatch.

"WAIT A MOMENT!" Tristan yelled loudly.

"What is it, Tristan?! You're screaming in my ear!" Joey shouted.

"Uh-oh", Makoto cold sweated.

I sighed as I massaged my forehead with my point and long finger. "Here they go again..."

"The winner of rock-paper-scissors has the privilege of holding Miho-chan's D-whatever", Tristan told the blonde boy.

"It's D-Shock", Joey corrected. "You're no candidate if you don't even know the name."

"Come on, rock-paper-scissors!" Tristan persisted.

While the two boys played rock-paper-scissors I felt Amaura's presence next to me. I looked to my left to see her transparent figure watching something far behind Tristan.

"_What is it?_" I asked through telepathy.

"_I sense a corrupted heart close by..._", Amaura replied.

Uh-oh... When Amaura sensed corrupted hearts, it always meant trouble.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tristan was the lucky winner and got to wear Miho's D-Shock for today. We decided that the boys should be one group while the girls were another group.

I was having fun with Anzu and Miho, but Amaura's transparent figure was still visible for me. She was looking at something up ahead. I followed her eyes and saw a man in orange jacket, blue hat and shades watching the boys intensely. Especially Tristan.

"_I wonder..._", Amaura mumbled.

"_What?_" I asked.

"Aurora!" Anzu called.

I noticed the girls had walked to another game console so I walked quickly to them. "_Hai_!"

After a while we gathered in the middle of the floor when we heard Miho had to go home early.

"Miho, you're going home already?" Anzu asked.

"Yeah. I have an early curfew", Miho replied.

Tristan walked over to us, "Really? Then I'll return that..." He began digging into his back pocket for the wristwatch, but he was struggling to find it.

"What is it?" Miho asked.

"_Oi_, don't tell me... You lost it?" Joey said with unimpressed eyes.

While Tristan was looking in every pocket of his pants I looked up to see the same man again from before. He was grinning at Tristan with a laughing expression.

"That's...", I heard Yugi mumble. I looked down and noticed he was also looking at the man with suspicious eyes.

"It's gone!" Tristan yelled as he threw off his clothes to even look for the wristwatch in his boxer shorts. "Why?! Where did it disappear to?!"

Miho got so angry she slapped Tristan before running off crying. "Taylor-kun, you idiot, idiot, idiot! I hate you! I really hate you!"

I was very surprised to see Miho this upset, like a little child. After all, she sometimes acted like a small child.

"Whoa... I did not see _that_ coming...", Makoto cold sweated.

"Mi... Miho-chan!" Tristan cried.

I turned my attention back to the suspicious man who turned around and walked off somewhere in the arcade. Now I was certain that he was the thief, but I didn't have proof.

As soon as Tristan pulled on his clothes we began looking for the D-Shock all over in the arcade. We even went downstairs to see if Tristan accidently had dropped the wristwatch before we entered the arcade, but that was ridiculous. I knew Tristan was wearing the D-Shock by then.

"Where is Miho-chan's watch?!" Tristan cried out after a time of searching.

We gathered quickly around him since he had been searching for the wristwatch on his knees.

"Tristan, it doesn't look like you're going to find it", Anzu said.

"You've lost it, Just give up already", Joey sighed.

"I can't just give up! It's my fault!" Tristan cried. "Because of my carelessness... Miho-chan's important D-whatever is..."

Makoto sighed, "It's called D-Shock. Get it right already!"

"Mako!" I scolded my twin brother. "Now's not the time to correct Taylor-kun."

"Whatever", Makoto rolled his eyes.

Just then someone stepped on Tristan's hand making our friend cry out in pain. It turned out to be the same man with the orange jacket.

"Oh! Sorry. I thought that was a wash cloth", the man "apologized".

"You bastard...", I heard Tristan hiss.

Joey grabbed the collar of the man's jacket, "What are you doing, punk?!"

I was about to dig my hands into the man's pockets when Tristan stood up from the floor. I quickly retreated my hands before I could do anything.

"Stop it, Joey. If you have time to play with that idiot, then please help me search for the watch instead", Tristan told the blonde boy.

The man pulled himself out of Joey's grip and walked away while I kept staring at him.

"I saw what you were about to do, Aura", Makoto whispered in my ear. "You think he's the thief?"

I nodded, "_Hai_."

Suddenly the alarms went off. We turned our attention to Tristan who was lifting up a game console to search for the D-Shock. Guards were holding his arms to prevent him from looking as Joey, Anzu and Makoto rushed over to help.

I took the opportunity and rushed to the stairs where the suspicious man has walked to. I looked up at the stairs, not seeing him, when I heard footsteps coming from below. I took a few steps down and spotted the man walk downstairs.

I heard footsteps approaching me from behind. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Yugi run to me. I held my point finger to my lips, telling him to stay quiet as I returned my glance at the suspect.

The man stopped walking to pick up something from his pocket, and that thing was the D-Shock! Yugi gasped loudly, making me freeze in fear if that man had heard him.

Apparently he did because he looked up at us with a huge smirk and kept walking downstairs. Yugi and I looked at each other before nodding and rushed down the stairs to catch up with the man.

We reached the cellar and stood outside of the air conditioning room. We knew the man was inside there, waiting for us.

I turned to Yugi, "Mutou-kun, it's best if you remain here. I know martial arts and can easily take down the thief alone-"

"No! I'm going too!" Yugi told me with a serious voice. "I know he's the one who took the D-Shock so we're on this together!"

I was surprised by Yugi's determination and courage, but it made me smile. "Okay."

We opened the doors together and stepped inside the air conditioning room, spotting the thief in the middle of the room.

"So you're here to play?" the man smirked.

I walked up ahead and prepared myself in a karate pose. "Hand over the D-Shock or else..."

The man laughed, "What? You're assuming me being a thief? I just found the D-Shock lying on the floor."

"No! You stole it from Tristan-kun!" Yugi yelled. "Give it back!"

"Don't mess with me, brats!" the man threw himself at me.

I was prepared and kicked him back hard on his stomach, but he punched my face making me spit out blood. Then he punched me hard on my stomach that made me fall down on my knees to clutch my sore abdomen.

"Aurora-chan!" Yugi shouted worriedly.

"Take this, bitch!" the man spat before kicking me in the ribs and I collapsed on the floor.

It hurt so much I almost lost consciousness, but I tried to get up when I heard Yugi cry out in pain. It wasn't smart of me, because I fell back down on the floor while clutching my side.

I looked up and saw the man with orange jacket walk towards the doors when Yugi's Millennium Puzzle began glowing. My Millennium Earring suddenly felt warm against my ear when I heard Amaura's voice.

"_Let me take over._"

**Amaura's POV**

This was the first time I switched body with Aurora. I guess it was because of Yami who exposed a strong aura of ancient energy and he gave me a bit of his power.

We both stood up and the whole room changed into something else connecting to clocks. Gears were moving around, pendulums were moving left to right, the ticking sound of clocks echoed in the room and the time was showed on these clocks.

The culprit tried to open the doors, but they were locked by my and Yami's combined power. "What's going on? Dammit!"

"It's game time", Yami announced.

The man turned around and growled at us. "You two!" He rushed towards us, which was a bad move.

"It's dangerous here", I said.

When the man was only two meters from us a pendulum passed between us, making the man finally realize his surroundings. "What the hell is this?"

"You're going to play a game with me", Yami told him.

"What?!" the man growled.

"However... It'll be a Shadow Game", Yami explained.

"We will be wagering your stolen D-Shock", I added.

The man held up said item while cold sweating. "Don't mess with me, brats!"

Just then a slot opened on the floor and a pigeon came out to take the wristwatch and retired into the slot.

"My D-Shock!" the man kneeled down by the slot, trying to tear it open.

"But it's not really yours, is it?" Yami sighed. "But if you win this game, I'll acknowledge that it's yours."

"Game, you say?!" the man growled.

"Do you accept?" I asked him.

The man got up on his feet, glaring hard at us. "I'll play any game you got!"

"No need to be so angry", Yami smirked lightly.

"The rules are simple. At the start of the game, that same pigeon from before will appear", I began explaining. "The D-Shock's stop watch will activate. The one who stops it closest to ten seconds wins."

"What? That's it?" the man asked with a smirk on his lips.

"However, if you exceed ten seconds, the pendulum will pass by right next to the D-Shock", Yami glanced at the pendulum that had passed by before. "You know what'll happen if you're too slow, right?"

"Whether you do this or not, it's up to you", I added.

"Don't mock me! Of course I'm in!" the man said.

"Alright. So who'll start?" Yami questioned.

"I will!" the man pointed at himself.

"Understood", Yami nodded before looking at me. "Amaura?"

I nodded, "On my signal." I stayed quiet for five seconds. "Start!"

The pigeon came out with the D-Shock in its beak and the D-Shock began ticking. The man cold sweated as he focused on the wristwatch. When it was time, he launched himself at the D-Shock and stopped it and then leant back before the pendulum could hit him. The time was 9.35 seconds. Not bad.

"How's that?!" the man smirked.

"You're good. Now, my turn", Yami replied.

The pigeon retired into the slot and I wanted a few seconds. "Start!"

The pigeon returned with the D-Shock reset and the time began ticking once again. Yami closed his eyes and focused at the time before he calmly put his hand on the stop watch and skillfully avoided the pendulum before it could slash off his hand.

"9.95 seconds?!" the man said the time in shock.

"Looks like I win", Yami smirked.

"No! This was just a test! The next one will be the real one!" the man yelled.

I arched an eyebrow, "A test? You just want ano-"

Yami held up a hand to me, stopping me from talking. "I see. Very well. Then..."

"_Mate_. This time I'm doing it from that side!" the man walked over to our side.

"Okay", Yami agreed before we walked to the other side.

"Start!" I said the magic word.

The pigeon appeared once again and the time was running, but the man was smirking. I realized he thought he had figured out Yami's winning strategy, but he got it all wrong. When the man was about to stop the timer, the pendulum appeared and he barely made it, but the pendulum made a bruise on his hand and the man screamed in pain.

"Too bad. You were just focusing on Yami's strategy so much you forgot about the pendulum", I kneeled down to take the D-Shock. "I'll take this."

Before I could touch the wristwatch, the man grabbed my wrist and clenched it forcefully. "Stop! There's no way I'm giving this up! Forget this game! The D-Shock is mine!" He twisted my hand so much I couldn't help but grimace and hold back my scream.

Yami grabbed the man's hand and pulled it off of me. I looked up and saw how his eyes were deadly scary and glared at the man while the Eye of Horus glowed on his forehead. "Don't you dare touch Amaura", he said with a deep voice.

"W-What?!" the man gasped.

"The Door of Darkness has been opened", Yami announced.

We heard strange sounds from the man and noticed his bruise was open and showed his inner body was made of gears. He began panicking and forgot all about us. Yami helped me up before we walked away together leaving the man alone as he screamed in pure fear.

"SAVE ME!"

**Aurora's POV**

I returned to my body when Yami and Amaura had walked up a few stairs after they had exited the air conditioning room. Strangely, I remembered everything that happened, but Yugi was completely confused about how we ended up at the stairs. But we had the D-Shock so we walked out to meet the others.

Tristan was glowing by happiness when I handed him the D-Shock. "Yes! It's found!"

"So it was just under the stairs?" Joey asked.

"Yeah", Yugi nodded.

"How did it end up there though?" Makoto questioned.

"Also, what happened to your faces, Yugi, Aurora?" Anzu asked us.

I didn't want to tell them the truth so I let Yugi answer the question. "I'd like to joke about this... But I don't remember what happened."

"Neither do I", I lied. Makoto gave me a suspicious glance before he shrugged.

"_Yokatta_! With this, I can face Miho-chan!" Tristan cried by happiness. "This really is great! Thank you, Yugi, Aura!"

We departed and walked our way home. Yugi went with me and Makoto until we separated by a fork. When it was just me and Makoto, my brother walked ahead and then turned around in front of me making me stop walking. He looked at me with suspicious yet worried eyes. "Aura... What actually happened?" I didn't answer. "Was it that man from before who stole the D-Shock?"

I didn't want to lie to Makoto, but he did deserve to know the truth, at least half of it.

"Yes... It was that man with orange jacket who stole the D-Shock. Yugi and I followed him down to the air conditioning room and knocked him out", I half-lied.

Makoto sighed, "I somehow felt like that was the case." He then put a small smile on his lips. "At least you and Yugi weren't beaten up that roughly."

I nodded and then we walked home together.

"_Thank you for not telling him the truth_", Amaura whispered.

"_You're welcome, Amaura_", I replied.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Miho was happy when Tristan gave her the D-Shock next day at school. She also apologized about her slapping him on his cheek before she picked up a new topic.

"Perfume?" Tristan questioned.

"Yeah!" Miho nodded. "This Sunday, Emperor department store mambo line lady perfume is specially on sale! Miho wants this!" She showed said item in a catalogue she held up. "But I'm sure there'll be a long line!"

Tristan smirked, "_Yoshi_, Miho-chan! Leave this to the beautification of justice; Tristan Taylor!"

Miho clapped her hands joyfully, "I'm so happy! Miho is so moved!"

The rest of us sighed at the duo.

"Well... Well...", Anzu sighed.

"I don't suppose they make medicine for stupidity?" Joey questioned.

"That would be interesting if there _is_ such medicine", Makoto cold sweated.

Yugi and I remained quiet as we looked at each other and smiled slightly in response.


	3. Underhanded Tick, Digital Pet Riot

**I decided to make a small difference with this chapter. Instead of the pets they had in the show, they'll have Digimon as pets! But this doesn't mean the whole story will be a crossover with Digimon!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters! I only own my OCs!

**Chapter 3: Underhanded Tick; Digital Pet Riot**

Makoto and I were walking to school while I tended my Digital Pet. I got the pure white Digital Pet by Yugi who gave it to me for free, even though I wanted to give something in return. Makoto had gone into protective-mode and threatened the poor boy to not court me until he would approve Yugi 100%.

It appeared most of our friends also had a Digital Pet when we discovered Joey didn't switch off his own because it began beeping during class. That led to a lecturing by the teacher who nearly confiscated the device.

Once class was over, we gathered around Joey who was still rubbing his head where the teacher had hit him.

"Silly. Why didn't you switch it off?" Anzu asked the blonde boy.

"It doesn't grow when the switch is off! I want it to hurry and grow", Joey replied.

"Well, it takes time, it can't be helped", Anzu shrugged before picking up her orange Digital Pet. "I suppose that's its cute point."

"If you properly care for it you'll get a good outcome", Yugi played with his royal blue Digital Pet. "It's like it's your child."

"Or a pet if you can't afford a real one", I added as I played with my device.

"Yeah!" Joey agreed as he held up his blue Digital Pet. "Right now I'm devoting half my day to him!"

"If you say so, but I don't find that thing interesting...", Makoto shrugged.

"What a waste!" Tristan suddenly yelled, surprising all of us. "To waste time on that... Truly a waste of youth! Useless! Depravity!"

"What was that?!" Joey growled.

"You didn't have to say all that!" Anzu told the one-spiked haired boy.

"Tristan-kun, this is fun", Yugi said.

"No. Just like Makoto, I have no interest", Tristan replied.

"You mean you couldn't get one, right? It's sold out everywhere", Joey grinned.

"I did not become a beautification member to clean up Digital Pet droppings", Tristan began one of his long speeches again. "What I must clean is not the Digital World! Even if the dropping of Digital Pets spread to all humanity, I will remain in reality and continue picking up trash one piece at a time! I, beautification member, as Tristan Taylor!"

Just then Miho finally showed up after she had missed the first class. "_Ohayoo_!"

Tristan went immediately into shy-mode, "M-Miho-chan! _Ohayoo_..."

"What do you mean 'good morning'? Second period is already over", Anzu told the bluette.

Miho giggled before picking up a pink Digital Pet, "Well... It's hard to take care of her. She also slept late last night." Miho's Digital Pet looked like a Pichimon from what I've read on the Internet.

"So you're doing it too, Miho-chan?" Yugi asked excitedly.

"No surprise there though", Makoto smiled.

Miho nodded, "I definitely want to go to Australia."

"Australia?" Anzu and I questioned jointly.

Miho showed us a poster about a Digital Pet competition. "Didn't you know? It's this Sunday. A pet competition. And the prize is an Australia trip!"

"Wow...", Makoto and Yugi mumbled.

"I see. So that's why Joey is so desperate", Anzu smirked at said boy.

Joey chuckled, "Well, I couldn't go on a foreign trip without this device."

"_Demo_... Miho is tired", Miho sighed. "I wonder if there's someone who can raise my pet so that it can win the prize for me? And the Australia trip is for a pair."

Tristan snapped out of his romantic daydream, "P-Pair?!" He quickly, but gently grabbed Miho's hands. "Miho-chan, leave it to me! I swear as a beautification member that I will make you win!"

"_Honto_?!" Miho exclaimed happily.

Sometimes I did wonder if she acted all cute on purpose to make Tristan do all the dirty work, but I could be wrong. Maybe Miho was too innocent mentally.

"_Oi_! What was all that before about humanity?" Joey asked Tristan.

"I just realized it! There is no difference between reality and the Digital World", Tristan replied.

"Oh really?" Anzu asked ironically.

"What a sudden change of mind...", Makoto mumbled.

"No kidding...", I nodded.

"Good luck, Taylor-kun", Miho smiled.

I noticed by the corner of my eye a boy with dark blue hair and glasses stand in the background and looking down at the floor. It was our classmate Haiyama who was as tall as Yugi. Yugi saw him and ran over to him trying to cheer him up. But then Kujirada appeared and told Haiyama to come with him. Yugi followed them when I was about to say something, but changed my mind.

"_I can sense it..._", Amaura spoke up.

"_Another corrupted heart?_" I asked.

"_Yes, but the strange thing is I sense something from _both_ Haiyama-san and Kujirada-san._"

"_Hmm... That's really strange... After all, Kujirada-kun doesn't have a good reputation at school._"

"_That adds more suspicion of the corrupted heart._"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

In the next three days, Tristan didn't show up and wrote a letter as an excuse to skip school about taking care of a child AKA Miho's Digital Pet. But Tristan wasn't the only one who was busy in those days.

Makoto and I met our new manager Yukari Fujiyama and wrote on a new contract with the company we were now working with. We had long meetings about my and Makoto's songs which we often wrote together, which band that would make the music and other business.

So it meant we couldn't go home with our friends since we had to rush to the company directly after school and came home late, but Yamato always picked us up after work.

Right now we were at school and I was tending my Digital Pet Nefertimon while Yugi did the same thing with his Digital Pet. Anzu, Miho and Makoto gathered around us and watched Yugi's Digital Pet eat some food.

"_Kawaii_! It's eating!" Miho giggled.

"His name is Loweemon", Yugi told us.

"Loweemon? Mine is pretty good too", Anzu said before holding up her Digital Pet to show us a rabbit pet.

"Anzu's is cute too", Miho said.

"Her name is Lunamon", Anzu told us. "I'm pretty proud of her."

"What about Aurora-chan's Digital Pet?" Miho looked at me curiously.

I smiled before showing them my Digital Pet, "It's Nefertimon."

"How cute!" Miho giggled.

"It looks like a combination of a cat with angel wings and the Sphinx as the head", Anzu commented.

"_Hai_", I nodded. "I'm actually surprised my pet grew up into an animal that reminds me of the Ancient Egypt."

"It seems to be in the blood since our Dad was an Egyptian", Makoto said.

"An Egyptian?" Yugi questioned.

"That explains why your skin is so tanned, Makoto", Anzu commented.

"Wait a moment!" Joey shouted, gaining our attention. "Too bad... The championship is going to my pet; Ogremon." His pet looked like an ogre with a spike club.

"It's not cute", Miho whined.

"The only resemblance is that they're both cheeky", Anzu said.

"Shut up!" Joey spat before turning to Yugi. "_Oi_, Yugi! Mind if we do a data exchange? We can make both ours pet grow."

"Loweemon is kind of timid, so it'd be nice to have Ogremon's wild characteristic", Yugi said. "And also Nefertimon's calm characteristic as well if you don't mind, Aurora-chan."

"I don't mind", I smiled. "I want to do a data exchange with both your pets."

"Alright, then... Link up!" Joey said as the boys stuck their Digital Pets together.

Ogremon disappeared from his screen to enter Loweemon's screen.

"There he is! There he is!" Joey exclaimed excitedly.

But the happy moment was over when Ogremon began hitting Loweemon with his spike club.

"He's bullying him!" Miho gasped.

"It really is just like you!" Anzu growled.

"Like owner like pet, as they say", Makoto commented.

"You mean 'Like father like son', Mako?" I pointed out.

Loweemon just patted on Ogremon's head before the ogre returned to his device.

"The data exchange is done", Yugi smiled as the boys disconnected their Digital Pets.

"Okay, it's your turn, Aura!" Joey grinned.

I nodded as we linked our devices together and Ogremon inched his way onto my screen. Everyone crowded around us as they stared intensely at my screen.

Ogremon and Nefertimon stared at each other before Ogremon held up his spike club to hit Nefertimon, but my pet acted faster and slashed the ogre.

"_Oi_! Your so-called calm pet is hurting Ogremon!" Joey yelled.

"I would say she's using self-defense to protect herself from that dangerous weapon Ogremon has", Makoto smirked.

"Self-defense my ass!" Joey growled.

Nefertimon swung her paw and made Ogremon drop his spike club that flew back onto Joey's screen and Ogremon rushed to get it back. Just then we heard the beeping sound of when a data exchange was done.

"What the hell was that?!" Joey asked.

"I don't know...", I shrugged. "But one thing for sure; Nefertimon and Ogremon aren't meant to be friends."

Makoto grinned, "They're _far_ away to even become mates."

"Where did you get that from, Makoto?" Anzu eyed my brother suspiciously.

"Never mind him", I waved off.

"It's our turn then", Yugi held up his Digital Pet.

I nodded before we linked our devices together. We watched as Loweemon walked onto my screen. Our pets were watching each other for five seconds before notes appeared around them as they began dancing.

"_Kawaii_!" Miho giggled.

"_Oi_! How come Aura's pet is friendly with Loweemon?" Joey asked.

"Maybe because Loweemon is not a bully", Makoto grinned.

After our pets had finished dancing, Nefertimon pecked a kiss on Loweemon's cheek. Loweemon blushed hard before he retired into Yugi's Digital Pet.

"W-Well, the data exchange is done", Yugi stuttered slightly with a blush. "After this there should be some kind of change in Loweemon's growth."

"Alright! Australia is mine!" Joey said in determination.

"He is taking it?" a mocking voice spoke up.

We all turned to the door and saw Kujirada stand there with a huge smirk.

"Kujirada-kun!" Yugi exclaimed.

"The contest winner is definitely going to be me", Kujirada said as he held up a golden Digital Pet.

Makoto and I had heard from the others how Kujirada had bought the Gold Pet yesterday while causing a small commotion. However, Gold Pet was a premium item so it wasn't cheap, but Kujirada had the money for it while he had none for yesterday's lunch.

Joey snorted, "Kujirada, don't get a big head just 'cause you got a Gold Pet! There's no way someone like you could raise one!"

"Oh, really?" Kujirada grinned. "This is my ultimate pet! He's Chaosdromon!"

Chaosdromon looked like a large dragon with machine parts all over his body and a cannon on his back.

"He looks like he has a lousy personality", Anzu commented.

"No way, that's yours?!" Joey asked.

Kujirada chuckled, "If you pay money you can learn plenty of secrets."

"Money again?!" Joey spat.

"What's this deal with you and money anyway, Kujirada?" Makoto asked. "At school, you act you've got no money to buy lunch, but suddenly after school you've got your pockets full with cash."

Kujirada didn't answer. Instead he grabbed forcefully Anzu's Digital Pet from her hand. "His strength ain't just for show!" He linked his Digital Pet with Anzu's. "Go, Chaosdromon!"

We watched Anzu's screen as Chaosdromon walked over to Lunamon and suddenly the rabbit pet was deleted!

"My Lunamon!" Anzu cried.

Kujirada chuckled evilly, "Chaosdromon grows by eating other Digital Pets."

"Kujirada, you bastard!" Joey growled.

"Shall he eat yours too?"

"Works for me! Try it if you can!"

"Don't, Wheeler-kun!" I tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Not so long after the guys linked their Digital Pets, Ogremon was deleted.

"Ogremon!" Joey shouted painfully.

"The Australia trip is mine", Kujirada declared. "Don't worry about it."

"How mean, Kujirada-kun!" Yugi shouted.

"You're going too far by using other people's pets to make your own grow!" I growled.

"Aurora-chan is right!" Miho agreed. "How can you use the pets that others raise to go to Australia?!"

"You're one to talk", Anzu murmured with tears in her eyelids.

"Kujirada-kun. Everyone raised their Digital Pets with care. It's so wrong to eat them!" Yugi tried to reason with Kujirada.

"Shut up! In the world, those who have money win!" Kujirada said. "I'll eat yours too!" He was about to grab Yugi's Digital Pet when a familiar voice yelled.

"Stop!"

We turned to the door and spotted Tristan! But he didn't look so well. His hair was a bit messy and his eyes were showing he hadn't slept for a long time. Proof; the bags under his eyes.

"I have raised the ultimate pet", Tristan declared.

"Ultimate pet?" Kujirada questioned.

"Three days without sleep or rest... This is the ultimate creation; Digital Super MarineAngemon!" Tristan held up Miho's Digital Pet to show us a cute little creature that looked like Pichimon, but had wings on its body, a collar around its neck and a heart-shaped symbol on its abdomen.

"Tristan actually managed to raise a Miho-pet?" Makoto's eyes widened in surprise.

"Did you think I, a beautification member, didn't know?!" Tristan glared at the chubby bully. "This device will teach you."

Kujirada laughed, thinking it was a joke. "What can that pet do?! I will turn him into Chaosdromon's food!"

Tristan and Kujirada linked their devices and Chaosdromon entered Miho's screen. For a moment it looked like Chaosdromon was going to delete MarineAngemon when the little angel pet began kissing the machine dragon all around its body until it got deleted.

"_Nani_?!" Kujirada exclaimed.

"He... He did it!" Joey shouted.

"Unbelievable!" Makoto said.

"Super MarineAngemon does not allow trash or evil being to exist! When he finds trash he completely destroys it with the love of cleaning", Tristan explained. "He's truly the beautification member of the Digital World!"

Kujirada cursed as he threw the Digital Pet devices on Yugi's desk before leaving the classroom with a thunder cloud above his head.

"That's what you get!" Joey grinned.

"Tristan-kun, you're so awesome!" Yugi praised.

"Great job!" Miho smiled happily.

"But next time, don't stay awake for 72 hours straight", I sweat dropped.

"Yeah, or else Mom will go around you and scold you for being so careless", Makoto shivered in fear. "Mom is scary when she's angry."

Anzu took a closer look at MarineAngemon, "MarineAngemon is just like a combination of Miho's cuteness and Tristan's obsession for cleaning."

We heard a noise coming behind us and turned around to see Haiyama staring at his desk. His pencil case was knocked down to the floor, the pencils scattered around.

"Haiyama, what's wrong?" Tristan asked.

"No... Nothing...", Haiyama replied quietly, but I noticed his eyes looked very upset.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Makoto, Yugi and I were walking home together in peace for once. Yugi was in deep thoughts about something as Makoto and I remained quiet to rest our ears from a whole school day.

But the peace broke when we spotted Kujirada carry something big on his shoulder that had the shape of a human. We ran after him and made it to an abandoned factory. We hid in the shadows and heard the conversation between Tristan and...Haiyama.

It turned out Haiyama had changed Kujirada by making the chubby boy his "pet". Speaking of Kujirada, he was lying on the ground unconscious with whip scars on his back. Miho was hanging in the air roped to two beams beside her, also unconscious.

I took a closer look at Haiyama and saw his face looked now as a madman's. So he was the one who had the corrupted heart Amaura had sensed days ago!

When Haiyama cracked the ground with the whip, Yugi and I jumped up together from our hiding place.

"Stop it!" Yugi shouted.

"Enough, Haiyama-kun!" I growled.

"Yugi! Aura! Why are you here?" Tristan asked when he noticed us. "And Makoto!"

"I was worried about Haiyama-kun, so we followed after Kujirada-kun", Yugi explained. "But this is how it is... Haiyama-kun, this is wrong!"

"You saw me during feeding time, didn't you?" Haiyama asked before realizing something. "Oh, right." He held up a gray Digital Pet. "This childish game... Let me return it." He threw it at the ground next to Kujirada's unconscious body.

"Haiyama-kun!" Yugi cried out as he tried to rush to our crazy classmate, but was held back by Makoto.

"Don't, Yugi! Haiyama is crazy!" Makoto said.

"You shouldn't have been looking around!" Haiyama spat before flinging his whip towards Yugi.

However, before the whip could touch either Yugi or Makoto I stood in the way and took the hit. It was powerful enough to knock me back into a pile of cardboard boxes. I heard the boys yell my name, but I barely heard anything because my view was spinning around.

I heard yelling, noises and screams around me as I slowly got up with a throbbing head. When I looked at the scene, Tristan and Makoto were both down. Yugi glared furiously at Haiyama when the Millennium Puzzle began glowing along with my Millennium Earring. I closed my eyes and allowed Amaura to take over.

**Amaura's POV**

Both Yami and I were glaring at the corrupted Haiyama who finally noticed us.

"Yugi! Aurora!" Haiyama exclaimed.

"Now... It's game time", Yami announced.

"_Nani_?" Haiyama mumbled.

"Haiyama. Why don't you have your pet fight my pet", Yami suggested as he picked up Haiyama's Digital Pet and linked it with Yugi's.

Loweemon appeared behind Yami as a several armed monster appeared behind Haiyama.

"Sounds interesting! I love this kind of thing", Haiyama smirked. "Go! Eat that loser, Kimeramon!"

"Loser?!" Yami growled.

While the boys had the battle I went over to Miho and untied her from the ropes and put her down on Tristan's chest. I pulled carefully Makoto to a safer place along with Kujirada who weighed a ton from the fighting monsters.

Just when it looked bad for Loweemon, a light came out from the pocket of my jacket. I reached for it and saw it was Aurora's Digital Pet. A beam of light shot out and tackled Kimeramon from Loweemon.

When the light materialized, we saw Nefertimon stand in front of Loweemon and glared at Kimeramon.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Haiyama shouted. "There're only supposed to be two pets on the field!"

"You can't help it if Nefertimon wishes to protect her mate", I said.

"Mate?" Haiyama arched an eyebrow.

Suddenly there was a beeping sound coming from Haiyama's Digital Pet where the monsters were fighting.

"What?" Haiyama questioned.

"The effect of the data exchange has appeared", Yami said. "This is the sound that plays when a Digital Pet evolves."

"_Nani_? Evolves?!" Haiyama exclaimed.

Loweemon was starting to glow as he evolved.

"The change cause by Ogremon and Nefertimon's data has appeared", Yami said.

Loweemon had evolved into a black lion with the appearance of the mythical Sphinx and a pair of golden wings on its back. Nefertimon and the newly evolved Loweemon stood together side by side.

"What?! I sense great energy!" Haiyama exclaimed.

"Go, AncientSphinxmon!" Yami ordered.

"You too, Nefertimon!" I commanded.

Our two Ancient Egyptian pets rushed together and tackled Kimeramon so hard he collapsed in front of Haiyama.

"What?! Get up!" Haiyama swung his whip at Kimeramon.

"Haiyama, the match is over", Yami told the corrupted boy.

"Not yet!" Haiyama continued swinging his whip at his pet until Kimeramon showed any movement. "_Yoshi_, that's it!" But Kimeramon was approaching his owner with a furious expression. "Stop! I raised you!"

"You don't get it, don't you?" I sighed.

"The Door of Darkness opens", Yami announced.

At those words, Kimeramon literally devoured Haiyama. Even though it was an illusion it looked so realistic to me. When the illusion of Kimeramon disappeared, Haiyama was lying on the ground groaning in pain and fear.

"Pets are free to choose who they point their fangs at. You forgot that, so you lose", Yami spoke.

I walked up to Haiyama who gagged in his nightmare. "There's more to pets than food and whips... The most important thing is love. Something you never understood and will never understand in the future." I sensed Nefertimon next to me, so I rubbed her cheek gently. Nefertimon purred and rubbed her cheek in my hand in return, making me chuckle at the cute gesture.

Yami walked up to me and gently held my chin to look at something on my cheek. "You got a bruise on your cheek. You should be careful next time, Amaura."

I shrugged, "You should tell that to Aurora. She's the one who protected Yugi and her brother."

The next move surprised me. Yami let go of my chin to gently embrace me. My head was resting on his shoulder as I felt his hand rub my back. I felt my heart beat faster, but I ignored it and embraced Yami in return. We stood like that for five minutes when we heard Miho murmur in her dream.

"Let's go to Australia together... Mama..."


	4. Burning Struggle To The Death

**I came up with this idea to write a few chapters of the manga version that wasn't included in the anime. Here comes one of them!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters! I only own my OCs!

**Chapter 4: Burning Struggle To The Death**

Today it was a class meeting for the upcoming spring school festival. The only one who was absent was Miho. She had won the Digital Pet competition and went to Australia with her mother for a week. Tristan was sulking at the first few days when he learned Miho took her mother on the vacation and not him, but then shook it off and came up with the excuse that a daughter should spend a lot of time with her mother which was partly true.

Anzu was class representative and planned our activity for the school festival. She stood in front of the blackboard and had some papers on the cathedral to write down notes.

"Now then, we shall decide on the class attraction for the festival", Anzu told us. "If you have an idea, raise your hand!"

Several classmates raised their hands when they came up with different ideas. I was trying to think out a good attraction, but the only thing that came up was an indoors-attraction; karaoke café.

"I think we should make a haunted mansion!" a boy suggested.

"That's no good... Class C already built one of those...", Anzu shook her head.

"How about a fried soba shop?" Tristan suggested.

"Everyone, listen to my idea!" Joey shouted excitedly. "The festival will be one big entertainment center! We have to steal the guests from the other classes!"

"And what do you suggest, Joey?" Makoto asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I'll tell you!" Joey spat. "'Sex appeal' will decide the winner! I call my idea the 'Real High School Girl Cabaret'! All the customers get to pick a girl and a costume-"

The classmates, especially girls, were already throwing books and pencil cases at the blonde boy, disagreeing with him. I just sighed and shook my head at Joey's idea. Why wasn't I surprised by that pervert?

To tell the truth, I was really excited for my first school festival. I had heard so many great things from Mom when she attended high school in Japan. I was looking forward to this.

"Umm... Anything else?" Anzu called.

The ideas rolled in like a tornado.

"A cosplay contest!"

"Student wrestling!"

"Takoyaki!"

"How about a martial arts show?" Makoto suggested.

Anzu turned her attention to Tomoya Hanasaki who was one of the smallest boys in the class if you included Yugi and Haiyama. "Um... Hanasaki-kun?"

"Uh... Umm...", Tomoya mumbled bashfully. "A comedy manga dojo..."

Everyone stared at him as if he was a bit crazy. But Anzu smiled with a wink and turned to the blackboard.

"I'll write it. Since it fits", she said.

So far, we had six good suggestions including the comedy manga dojo and Makoto's idea of the martial arts show.

"Who hasn't given an idea yet?" Anzu asked the class.

"I think that's everyone...", Joey said, rubbing a bruise on his forehead.

Anzu turned her head to me, "Do you have an idea, Aurora?"

I shook my head, "Yes, but the idea I have would be good for an indoors-event."

"Okay", Anzu nodded before turning to Yugi. "Yugi... Got anything?"

Yugi was quiet for a second, "Well... Yeah, I do..." He took a deep breath to keep going. "A game... 'Carnival Game'! Like... Like an amusement park..."

Everyone was quiet for five seconds before they started agreeing on that idea.

"A game would be good."

"Yeah, it'd be fun!"

Everyone, including myself, started getting excited by this brilliant idea.

"Alright, 'Carnival Game' it is!" Joey yelled out excitedly.

"Great!"

"We've decided!"

"We'll go with that!" Makoto smiled.

"Alright, then we'll build a 'Carnival Game'!" Anzu declared.

I smiled at the excitement of the idea. I looked at Yugi who looked at everyone in the classroom, happy that his idea was a success. When he turned to me, I winked and gave him a thumbs up. I noticed his cheeks were red, but he smiled happily back.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

We decided for three games for the Carnival Game; human pop-up pirate, hit the bottles and target practice. Since each class had 50,000 yen to use for the attraction, we would use half the money for the attractions and the other half to consider scenery, lighting, paint and so on. Anzu managed to secure a great place for our attraction by the entrance so people would notice us.

The class got split up in several groups to buy the material and then next day we would begin building the attraction. And the festival was only three days away, so we had to act fast to finish.

The school yard was full of constructions and students rushing left to right and talking about the festival. The school building was also decorated to attract people.

Anzu and I looked at the construction of our attraction and it started to look really good.

"The sign looks really cool!" a male student said.

"We're over budget on materials!" Anzu announced.

"It'll be fine, Anzu!" Makoto smirked as he rubbed off the sweat from his forehead. "If we need some more money, Aurora and I will share a slight from our income!" He was working with the stand.

Anzu looked surprised by the generosity, "_Honto_? You'd do that for our class?"

I nodded, "_Hai_. Makoto and I discussed it when we realized the money would not be enough, and we save all our money from our career."

Anzu smiled, "That's really nice of you two."

"It's nothing", I returned the smile.

The two of us stepped into the stand to check if everything went well. Yugi was making the BlueBeard mask as Joey and Tristan worked on the barrel for the human pop-up pirate game.

"I finished the BlueBeard mask!" Yugi announced, holding the mask proudly.

The mask was made by paper maché with paint creating the bandana and eyepatch.

"_Oi_, Yugi!" Joey called. "We're almost done here..."

The barrel looked like it came directly from the factory. It didn't even look like it was handmade.

"Nice", I smiled.

"Even a disgusting barrel must look beautiful on special occasions such as this", Tristan said proudly.

"Joey-kun, Tristan-kun, you're good with your hands! I'm impressed!" Yugi said.

"Everyone has _some_ redeemable quality...", Anzu commented.

"I've always been good at making things perfect, just like a beautification member would do!" Tristan smiled proudly.

"And I've been putting together plastic model kits in my garage since I was a kid!" Joey said before climbing into the barrel that fit him perfectly. "I wonder who'll be playing BlueBeard... I'm gonna laugh my butt off!" He started to laugh for himself.

"Why, you, of course!" Anzu told Joey with a small smirk. "You're the perfect size..."

"Wha?!" Joey exclaimed.

Tristan and Makoto who had joined us started to laugh at the blonde boy.

"I made the mask to fit your head!" Yugi held up the mask for Joey.

"_Nani_?!" Joey growled.

"It's decided; you're BlueBeard!" Anzu announced.

"Don't screw around!" Joey yelled angrily.

We kept laughing until we heard a loud footstep coming from outside. Anzu turned around and groaned when she recognized the class.

"Who is that?" I nodded at the large young man who seemed to be the leader. The students behind him were carrying a large iron plate.

"It's Inogashira, the head of Class 3-D", Anzu replied.

"Someone's taken our spot!" Inogashira growled and looked at Anzu. "What do you brats think you're doing here?!"

Anzu looked offended, "Preparing for the festival, of course..."

"You're joking!" Inogashira yelled angrily. "Every year for the past three years, Class D has used this spot for our festival event!"

"We've already marked it!" Anzu countered. "We got this spot in the lottery, fair and square!"

"Fair and square...", Inogashira mumbled before he and his classmates erupted in laughter. "Listen closely! Every year, we come to this spot to cook okonomiyaki! It's a tradition! Take this stupid 'Carnival Game' trash somewhere else!"

"It's not trash!" Makoto and I shouted jointly.

"Beat it!" Joey growled from the barrel. "You'll be sorry you picked a fight with us!" He tried to climb out of the barrel, but he was stuck.

"_Kora_, Joey! Get out already!" Tristan growled as he tried to help the blonde boy.

"Go die!" Inogashira shouted as he punched both Joey and Tristan.

"Joey-kun! Tristan-kun!" Yugi called worriedly.

Makoto and other classmates rushed to the boys and helped them out of our attraction before Inogashira shouted again.

"Come on! Bring the iron plate!" Inogashira ordered his classmates. "Break down the Carnival Game building! Tear down their attraction!"

"Yes, sir!" the classmates nodded.

They repeatedly rammed the iron plate into the side of our building. It started to slowly angle by each ram. My classmates and I could not nothing but watch in horror. Where were the teachers?!

"Stop it!" I shouted at the third year class.

The others joined me, but it didn't help at all. Inogashira just laughed at the scene and the building was slowly cracking now.

"Hahahaha, yes! The tradition place will be ours!" Inogashira smirked. "That iron is 15 cm thick, and can cook 50 portions at once!"

In my worst fear, Yugi rushed to stand between our attraction and the aggressive third year class. "Mutou-kun!"

"Yugi!" our friends cried out.

"Everyone helped build this! You can't destroy it!" Yugi yelled at the third year's boys.

Just before the third years could ram the iron plate into Yugi, I rushed forward and hugged the little boy close to my body to protect him, my back facing the aggressive class.

I felt the iron plate ram straight into my cranium, making me cry out in pain as Yugi and I flew backwards before crashing on the ground. I felt myself lose consciousness before everything turned black.

**Normal POV**

"Aura!" Makoto exclaimed in fear as he rushed over to his unconscious twin-sister.

Yugi crawled out from Aurora's arms and gasped when he saw his savior had fainted. "Aurora-chan!"

"Aura!" Joey yelled as he ran over to his friends with Tristan and Anzu on his tail.

"We'll leave the iron plate here, as a marker!" Inogashira shouted to his classmates.

Class 1-B watched as Class 3-D placed the gigantic iron plate at their spot and then left laughing. But then the main attention was put on Aurora who was still unconscious.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Makoto shouted while holding Aurora close to his chest. "Aura might have a concussion!" He picked up his cell phone from his pocket and threw it to Anzu who caught it.

While Anzu dialed the emergency number, Makoto checked Aurora's pulse and made sure she was breathing.

Yugi was feeling terrible. Because of his stupidity, one of his friends got hurt. Joey and Tristan told him it wasn't his fault, but the boy refused to listen.

When the ambulance arrived, some of the students of the class reported the situation for the teachers while the paramedics loaded Aurora into the ambulance. Makoto was about to go with them, but cursed when he remembered something.

"Our bags! They're still in the classroom!"

Yugi stepped in, "I'll bring them to the hospital! Just go with Aurora-chan, Makoto-kun!"

"Thanks, buddy!" Makoto nodded gratefully.

The twin-brother jumped into the ambulance and sat down next to his sister as the vehicle drove off.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_ "__Amaura, wait!"_

_A boy who had the same hairstyle as Yugi, except he had red edges of his black star-shaping hair, rushed after a girl who was slowly walking away, her back turned to the boy. The boy looked to be 16 years old with his long height, tanned skin as an Egyptian's and crimson eyes. He was wearing a white tunic with a white kilt-like skirt, brown sandals and a few golden jewelries._

_The girl who seemed to be as old as the boy, Amaura, stopped walking and turned slowly around to look at the boy with sad eyes. She had the same long brown hair as Aurora without highlights, except her eyes were heterochromia; her left eye royal blue and the right eye light green. Her skin was not as tanned as the boy's, but still sun-kissed. She was dressed in a simple white dress ending above her knees and brown sandals, wearing a golden diadem on her forehead, a golden belt around her waist and a few other golden jewelries on her arms and neck. The Millennium Earring was in her right ear, slightly hidden by her hair._

_ "__****?" Amaura mumbled._

_ "__Amaura, we all know it's not your fault about Father's sudden illness!" the boy told her._

_ "__Yes, it _is_my fault!" Amaura spat frustratingly. "I can't stay here while your father's people think it's my fault he's fallen ill since I am Anubis's child; the Bringer of Darkness! I shouldn't have become a Priestess in the first place!" She was trembling and bit her lower lip as tears collected in her eyelids. "I... I shouldn't have accepted the offer of becoming a part of the..." The tears were now running down Amaura's cheeks._

_The boy rushed over to the crying girl and embraced her gently, putting his hand on her head to stroke her silk-like hair. He knew Amaura had been put in pressure for so many years, yet he didn't want to lose one of his closest friends ever._

_ "__But if you didn't accept the offer of becoming a Priestess, we wouldn't be able to spend time together", the boy said._

_Amaura snorted, "Look who's talking. You've started becoming busier for your studies to become the next Pharaoh..."_

_The boy held the girl closer to him, "I know, Amaura... But still..." He released Amaura to hold her shoulders. "Stay here...for me..."_

_Amaura looked away, confused and tormented by her own feelings. She wanted to stay because of many reasons, but she didn't want to go through the inner pain she was afraid of that could one day crush her soul._

_Amaura looked up again at the boy and nodded, "Okay... I'll stay, ****..."_

**XXXXXXXXXX – Aurora's POV**

I opened my eyes with a loud gasp and sat up. I was panting by this dream that was foreign, yet it felt familiar. Was it...a fragment of Amaura's memory?

"Aurora-chan?" a timid voice spoke up.

I just then realized I was sitting on a bed and looked to my left to see Yugi sit on a chair next to the bed. He had a very worried face and looked guilty at the same time.

"Mutou-kun?" I mumbled.

"Are you okay, Aurora-chan?" Yugi asked worriedly.

I rubbed the back of my head and winced when I felt an inch of pain. "Somewhat..." I looked around in the room. "Where am I?"

"In the hospital. Makoto-kun took you here since he was worried if you had a concussion", Yugi explained.

"I see... Where is Mako?"

"He went out to make a call..."

I looked at Yugi and saw he had unshed tears in his eyes while his lips trembled. "Mutou-kun?"

"_Gomen nasai_!" Yugi erupted, the tears falling from his eyelids. "It's my fault that you got hurt and sent to the hospital! I shouldn't have tried to save our Carnival Game!"

My eyes widened when I saw Yugi cry for the first time. His facial expression told me he felt really bad, like a child who regretted doing a hurtful prank.

I couldn't hold myself back and grabbed Yugi's arm to drag him to me so I could hug him. His chin rested on my shoulder as he sat at the edge of the bed, since he was short. I rubbed his back to smooth him and enjoyed the moment to be this close to a boy I now trusted.

"It's not your fault, Mutou-kun. Don't blame yourself", I comforted him. "Blame the 3-D's who tried to steal our spot..." I let go of Yugi to see his red cheeks when a thought hit him. "Wait... What about the Carnival Game?"

Yugi looked down with a sad face, "Anzu said it'll have to wait for next year..."

I was shocked when I heard Anzu didn't try to fight against Class 3-D to regain our spot. I felt my mood drop when I realized I wasn't going to be able to enjoy my first high school festival... I looked forward to it and now the dream had to get crushed by that gigantic iron plate Class 3-D brought.

I felt a warm bright light shine when I looked up to see Yami had taken over. He had this scary determined expression whenever he was ready to punish the bad people.

"Yami...?" I mumbled.

He didn't say anything. He just stood up and walked out of the room with the dark aura surrounding him. I remained in the bed, wondering what Yami was going to do. Unless...

"_He might be going to punish Inogashira-san for ruining so many students' happiness_", Amaura spoke up.

I was a bit stunned by Yami's kindness, but felt a small smile reach my lips. "Yami...is a kind boy when you get to know him."

"_Indeed. And he looks so...handsome when he's ready to punish the corrupted people..._", Amaura sighed.

Just then I remembered the dream I had while I had been unconscious. "Amaura-"

Before I could speak more, Makoto stepped into the room with a confused expression. "What the heck..."

"Mako?" I said, getting his attention.

Makoto snapped out of it and rushed over to the bed with a big smile. "Aura!" He hugged me close to his chest. "Thank Ra you're alright!"

I struggled a bit in his bear-hug, "I'm fine, Mako, but..."

Makoto realized what he was doing and let go of me. "Sorry, sis."

"It's okay...", I smiled lightly. "But what were you muttering about when you came in?"

Makoto snapped up and crossed his arms, "When I was on my way to you, Yugi walked past me without saying anything. When I asked him where he was going, he stopped and turned around telling me 'I am going to punish Inogashira for making Aurora depressed'. And with that, he left. But..." He grimaced with an irritated face. "He had this strange determined aura that is _not_ typically him. Yugi was too tall, he's not that brave and he had crimson eyes." My blood froze into ice when I heard Makoto had noticed Yami. "When the heck did he change?" Makoto glanced at me. "Do you know something about this, sis?"

I cold sweating, struggling on my two choices; lie to Makoto and say I didn't know or tell him the truth about the two spirits living in the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Earring. I chose the first choice.

"N-No... I don't know what you're talking about", I smiled nervously.

Makoto took a closer look at me before he sighed, "Alright. Maybe I was just too agitated when you got hurt."

"That could be the reason", I nodded.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Next day we heard the rumors about Inogashira attending the hospital because of some serious scorches. So without the leader, Class 3-D was defenseless and gave up to dominate their old spot at the school yard.

Thanks to my and Makoto's donation, our class managed to build up our Carnival Game once again. We finished it late night before the school festival.

Our Carnival Game was really popular; students from our school and parents with their children kept gathering at our shop to try the games. But one of the many reasons that our Carnival Game became a huge success was Makoto and I sang outside and attracted people since we were popular singers.

"AAAAUGH!" Joey screamed as he was flung out of the barrel once again.

"That looks painful for Joey...", Tristan commented.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Anzu laughed.

Makoto drank some water to refresh his throat before commenting, "I bet Joey will be sore in the morning."

I smacked Makoto across his head from behind, making him yelp in surprise. "Don't tease him, or else you'll end up having a fight next morning."

Makoto snorted, "As if he can beat me!"

Yugi laughed nervously, "Maybe it'll better with no fights at all."

I nodded at Yugi's comment, "Agreed."


	5. Explosion! Yo-yo Ultimate Technique

**Hi, guys!**

**I want to tell you I am working on a Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's story. You can find it on my profile. Please read and review it.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters! I only own my OCs!

**Chapter 5: Explosion! Yo-yo Ultimate Technique**

Miho had returned last Saturday from her vacation in Australia and I was surprised she didn't get a tan. She must have used tons of sunscreen at the beach.

"Miracle yo-yo?" Anzu and Miho asked.

Joey played with a yo-yo he recently bought, "Yeah! The finest street item right now is this yo-yo."

"Is something that old really popular?" Anzu wondered.

Yugi nodded, "They've been really cheap lately."

Makoto smirked, "Betcha the stores want to get rid of the old yo-yos to get some new toys to get more costumers."

I stood next to my twin with my arms crossed, "Or it's the trend among the toys." Everyone turned to me. "Just like with singers; when the old ones retire, the new ones get popular. But when the old singers make a comeback, the newbies get shoved into the backstage."

"Good analogy, sis", Makoto nodded.

"_Yoshi_! Now I'll show you my yo-yo techs!" Joey announced. "First is sleeping, which is the basic technique... Long sleeper!" He threw the yo-yo towards the floor, but it stopped a few centimeters from the floor and kept spinning.

"The yo-yo stopped mid-air and is still spinning!" Miho said excitedly.

I heard Makoto snort next to me.

"And if you touch the floor while in sleep mode...", Joey lowered the yo-yo to the floor and it rolled forward. "Walk the dog!" He pulled the string and made the yo-yo fly back to his hand.

"_Kawaii_!" Miho giggled.

Anzu snorted, "What? It's just the old walk the dog."

"Yeah, and these tricks are the old basic ones", Makoto added. "_Not_ impressed."

Joey grimaced in defeat before growling, "Then I'll show you an even more amazing technique!"

Uh-oh...

"Loop to loop!"

Joey threw the yo-yo in the air and around us. Anzu and Miko screamed as I ducked to protect Yugi and Makoto shielded me from the flying toy.

"That's dangerous!" Anzu shouted.

"Knock it off, Joey!" Makoto yelled.

Before anyone could get hurt, Tristan stepped in and caught the yo-yo. "_Kora_, Joey! Don't bring toys to this sacred learning institution!"

"An old man like you wouldn't understand the appeal of yo-yos", Joey smirked.

"Old man?!" Tristan exclaimed in shock.

Makoto got off me as I stood up from Yugi who was blushing hard. "Are you okay, Mutou-kun?"

Yugi nodded slowly, "Y-Yes... _Arigatou_."

Makoto turned me around to look for bruises on me, "But are _you_ okay, sis? No bruise?"

I sighed, "I'm fine, Mako. Don't worry."

"But I do worry about you, sis", Makoto retorted.

"But it's so cool", Miko said with shiny eyes. "Miho wants to try the yo-yo too!"

Tristan turned quickly to the girl with tears in his eyes. "What are you saying, Miho-chan?! If anything were to happen while you were playing with a yo-yo..." He got quiet for a few seconds, probably imagining Miho being hit by her own yo-yo, before grabbing her shoulders. "If anything happened... Miho-chan... Please... Just don't use the yo-yo. It's dangerous. Too dangerous."

The rest of us grimaced at the sight.

"You're the dangerous one", Joey told the one spiked-haired boy.

"But Taylor-kun has a point", I spoke up. "Yo-yos are toys, but they can also be weapons if you use them to harm others."

"Tristan and Aurora are partially right", Anzu said. "Did you hear that story? About the vagrant group with the yo-yos. Not only do they take money, they also use yo-yos as weapons to attack people. Many of our school's students have fallen victim it seems."

"_Nani_?! Is that true?!" Joey gasped.

"Aura and I heard about it from our cousin", Makoto said. "He told us one of his friends got ambushed by said group and got sent to the hospital by many fractures."

"A yo-yo isn't a tool for hurting people...", Yugi added with a low voice.

"Yugi is right", Joey agreed before getting determined. "Alright! I will properly punish those idiots!"

"Why do I not like the sound of it?" I asked sarcastically.

"You're just looking for a reason to fight, don't you?" Makoto grinned.

"S-Shut up!" Joey shouted embarrassingly. "Someone must stop the group of idiots before others get hurt!"

"Whatever", Makoto shrugged.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

After Makoto and I finished our homework in the evening, we sparred against each other in the dojo. I blocked an incoming kick and countered with a karate chop. Makoto grabbed my wrist before roundhouse kicking me in the stomach. I gasped in pain and was then sent back to the floor when my twin brother tackled me down.

"I win!" Makoto grinned.

I groaned, "Mako, the last part wasn't karate."

Makoto shrugged before grabbing my hand and helped me up on my feet. "I know, but I wanted to change my tactics for once."

I rubbed my sore stomach, "But you know you can't use other techniques in karate competitions except karate."

"I know, I know! Tsk!" Makoto grumbled. "Spoiling all the fun!"

"I'm just telling the truth", I shrugged.

"_Oi_, you two!" Yamato called from the door, making us turn to him. "Dinner's ready!"

"_Hai_!" Makoto and I replied.

We changed out of our clothes to pyjamas and ate dinner, laughing and talking about whatever we came up with. Yamato warned us once again about that vagrant group with yo-yo weapons.

When I was finally in bed, I put on the Millennium Earring to talk with Amaura.

"Amaura... Are you awake?" I whispered.

The transparent figure of said spirit appeared next to me on the bed. "_Yes. What's the matter?_"

I remembered the dream I had a week ago with the Ancient Egypt, Amaura and Yami's look-alike. "There is something I need to tell you."

"_Hm?_"

I told Amaura about the dream in details. She just nodded and kept listening until I was finished.

"_Have you seen more dreams like that one?_" Amaura asked.

"No...", I shook my head. "But...do you remember anything?"

Amaura shook her head, "_No, nothing at all._"

I sighed, "I was hoping it would help you."

"_And it does. Maybe not in the way you think, but if we collect more dreams like the one you just told me, maybe there is a chance for me to recover the memories with Yami._"

"You love him, don't you?"

"_W-Well... I feel a connection to him._"

I chuckled gently before removing the earring and put it on the nightstand next to the bed. I crawled into the covers and fell asleep.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Joey didn't show up at school next day, so we went to his house to see if he was okay or he got so injured after dealing with the vagrant group. But we encountered Joey's alcoholic father who was very intimidating.

But we managed to receive information that the blonde boy hadn't gone home since yesterday. We began looking for him at the places Tristan knew where he could be, since he had gone in the same middle school with Joey.

We kept searching for more than an hour when the search came to a stop.

Tristan growled, "Man... That guy never changes. I thought he got better when he entered high school..."

"If that's better... Then that means he was even worse in middle school?" Anzu asked in surprise.

Before Tristan could reply, we heard noises from an alley. We looked over the corner and spotted several boys in grey school uniforms ambush another student in a more luxury school uniform.

"Those are Rintama school uniforms. As usual the bad ones always gather together", Tristan said.

"Because they are deep inside cowards and can't act bad enough alone", Makoto growled.

I noticed a boy with familiar blonde hair who stood next to a Rintama student, but then he moved to teach the ambushed student a lesson...

"Joey-kun!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Why is he with those people?!" Anzu growled.

When the Rintama boys knocked out their prey and took the money, they turned around and walked away with Joey. Yugi and I rushed ahead, ignoring the shouts from our friends.

"Joey-kun/Wheeler-kun!" Yugi and I shouted.

The vagrant group stopped walking as Joey looked over his shoulder, his eyes being cold.

"Why did you miss school?! Why are you with those people?" Yugi asked while the rest of our group rushed over to us.

"'Those people'? You mean us?" a Rintama boy with the face of a clown, glasses and green hat wondered before turning to Joey. "Joey, do you know that brat?"

"No, I don't know them", Joey replied coldly. "Let's go."

"Joey-kun!" Yugi shouted a bit desperately.

The biggest guy of the Rintama group stepped up to Joey. He had two-toned blue hair and a small ponytail. He seemed to be a third year and looked very threatening with his facial expression.

"_I can sense it!_" Amaura shouted.

"_A corrupted heart?_" I asked.

"_Yes, from their leader; the one who's talking to Joey. And this is one of the strongest I've ever felt._"

"_Say a scale from 0 to 10._"

"_C-Close to 10._"

Only two words came across my mind; big trouble.

"Ever since you started going to Domino High, you've been hanging out with that kid", the leader pointed out to Joey. "You should have come to Rintama with us. With me."

"That sounded a bit creepy", Makoto whispered in my ear.

I nodded at his statement.

"No, Joey-kun! Let's go back together", Yugi tried again.

"I'm tired of your whining! You brat!" the clown Rintama shouted before rushing towards Yugi with a fist in the air.

Yugi yelled in fear before Makoto and I rushed past him and kicked the clown on his chin, our legs high up in the air. I was really glad I was still wearing mini-shorts beneath the skirt.

The others gasped in surprise as the clown crashed on the concrete, holding his sore chin. Makoto and I stood back to back in fighting position, ready to advance if the whole group decided to attack us.

The clown Rintama spat out blood, "You brats... You'll regret this!"

"_Oi_, Hirotani", another Rintama student said. "Those two..."

A third Rintama boy's eyes widened in recognition, "They are that duo singers; The Twin Paxs!"

"Got that damn right", Makoto growled with a smirk.

"Joey! You scum!" Anzu shouted angrily.

"Open your eyes, Joey!" Tristan said.

"You don't belong with those guys, Wheeler-kun!" I called.

The clown Rintama wiped away the blood from his lips before standing up and turned to Joey. "Let's go, Joey."

The Rintama group walked away, but I saw that Hirotani guy glance at us before turning away. His eyes...were so dark it scared me.

Joey never looked back once.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tristan told us that Rintama group used to be Joey's old friends from middle school; meaning Joey was extremely bad than now. Tristan also said Joey never changed from his bad self if said boy had returned to that vagrant gang.

But both Yugi and I believed in Joey because he did change. All his actions were still a bit rough, but in a good way. Tristan refused to listen to us before he said he gave up and left us.

However, the rest of us decided to take this problem on our own and went to look for that café the Rintama boys mentioned.

The sun was now touching the horizon. We stood in an alley, seeing the café J'z by the corner.

"_Nee_. Maybe we should stop", Miho said with a shaking voice. "Miho is scared!"

"We can't leave Joey-kun like this", Yugi said.

"Miho-chan, I'm here, so don't worry", Makoto assured her. "If anything happens, I'll step in and kick down those fools."

"That's your easy way to sweep away the problems", I mumbled.

Just then Tristan walked by the alley, not noticing us, while wearing a purple band across his chest and abdomen.

"What's with that band?" Anzu giggled, trying to hold back her laugh.

I stepped out of the alley with a small smile, "I knew it. Taylor-kun _does_ care about Wheeler-kun." The others looked at me before smiling.

We walked up to Tristan who stood in front of the café and got very surprised when we called out his name.

"Despite saying that, you are worried about Joey!" Anzu stated.

"And also being a good friend", Makoto smirked.

"No...", Tristan said before collecting himself, going into beautification mode. "As a beautification member, I just want to clean Joey's dirtied heart."

"_Nee_, what's this?" Yugi pointed at the band.

"That's a secret!" Tristan retorted.

"Miho wants to know", Miho said.

Well, that changed Tristan's mind.

"It was two years ago. Joey and I were in middle school. We were chosen to be in a tournament. Halfway through our team was last, but... My powerful running quickly got us to second. And then, I gave the band to Joey who was the anchor, it was all up to him. This was the bud of our friendship", Tristan held another purple band in his hand. "This band is the proof of my friendship with Joey. What do you think? Isn't that a good story?"

"Interesting story", I smiled.

"Very cool!" Yugi nodded.

"Lovely! The friendship between men!" Miho giggled.

"Although it's kind of fishy", Anzu sweat dropped.

"When Joey sees this band, I'm sure it'll open his eyes", Tristan said.

"Then let's go!" Makoto exclaimed.

We walked down to the café, seeing it was empty except for the owner. We walked to him at the bar and asked him about the Rintama group.

The owner was cleaning the dishes, "The Rintama guys? I'm sure they're in a fight somewhere. Or else they'd be in the warehouses out of town. That's their base it seems."

We looked at each other, finally happy to have a clue where the vagrant group could be.

"You guys are from Domino High School, right?" the owner asked.

"_Hai_", I nodded.

"Don't blame me for saying it, but you better avoid those guys", the owner warned us. "Earlier a Domino school student was coerced here."

"Our student?" Tristan asked.

The owner nodded, "They forced him to join them it seems."

The boys looked at each other before turning to us girls. "Like I said. Joey was just hanging out with his old friends", Tristan told us.

"I'm sure he'll come to school tomorrow", Miho nodded.

"I'm sure he'll be poorly swinging around that yo-yo. And being stupid", Anzu said.

Maybe those two could be tricked, but not me.

We decided to call it a day and split up to walk home. Anzu and Miho walked home together as Yugi, Tristan and Makoto were going somewhere else. I quickly grabbed Makoto's arm, stopping him for a moment.

"Mako, are you three going to...", I trailed off.

Makoto nodded, "We are going to face the Rintamas and get Joey back. It's too dangerous for you, so you better walk home, sis."

I looked over his shoulder and saw Tristan and Yugi give me assuring smiles. I smiled back and turned my attention to my twin brother. "Then promise me you'll be careful."

"I will, sis", Makoto squeezed my shoulder in comfort before handing me his bag. "I'll be back before curfew."

I remained at the same spot as I watched the trio walk away with determined steps. I couldn't help but worry something awful was going to happen soon. And that facial expression of Hirotani was still engraved in my memories.

A memory flash of that dreadful incident back in Canada came back, but I quickly brushed it off. I didn't want to remember _that_; I wanted to forget about _it_.

Exhaling a sigh, I turned around and walked home.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Makoto had returned home, but the mission had been unsuccessful. So next day after school, Yugi and Tristan went to Rintama High School to face the Rintama boys while Makoto and I looked for Joey. We went to the same places that Tristan had showed us yesterday, but we didn't find the blonde boy.

"Where the heck could he be?" Makoto growled.

I pondered for a minute, "Are we missing a clue?"

"What clue?" Makoto arched an eyebrow.

I remained silent as I walked ahead. Makoto followed me as I walked to the closest park. If Joey would _accidently_ have an inner fight with himself, then one of the places to find some peace would be in a park.

And indeed; we found Joey sitting on a bench, holding his hands together and his head bowed down.

"Joey!" Makoto called as we rushed to him.

Said boy looked up in confusion before seeing us approaching him. His eyes widened and stood up from the bench walking away, but Makoto grabbed his shoulder.

"What is it?" Joey asked with a cold voice.

"Joey...", Makoto began with a threatening voice. "Why did you suddenly join those Rintama guys? Why did you abandon your _real_ friends?"

"That has nothing to do with you. Let go of me", Joey threatened.

"Wheeler-kun...", I stepped over to the boys. "Did the Rintamas...threaten you?"

Joey glanced over his shoulder to look at me, his eyes softening which told me everything I needed to know, but I still needed to hear him say it with his own words.

"Joey, we want to know the truth", Makoto said.

"You know you can tell us everything", I added.

Joey looked from me to Makoto and then back to me before he gave in. "Fine! When I wanted to teach the vagrant group a lesson, it turned out to be my old buddies from middle school. At first I wanted to stay away from them, but then Hirotani threatened me that he and the others would hunt down and hurt my new friends, especially Yugi. I didn't know how to drag myself out of it, but Hirotani offered me to join him and they would leave you guys alone."

Makoto let go of Joey as we saw the blonde boy getting emotionally upset. My brother and I looked at each other before nodding, realizing we were thinking at the same thing.

"Joey, Tristan and Yugi went to Rintama High School to face the group", Makoto said. "And if you're telling us how _deadly_ they are..."

Joey gasped in realization, "Wait, that means janitor member and Yugi..."

I nodded worriedly, "They are...hurting Taylor-kun and M-Mutou-kun..."

"_Kuso_!" Joey cursed. "Yugi is a very easy prey; we have to save him!"

"That's the spirit, man!" Makoto smirked cheerfully. "The rightful Joseph Wheeler is back, baby!"

I sweat dropped, "Mako... Now's not the time to be cheerful."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The three of us came quickly up with a plan to take down the Rintama guys once and for all. We went to the abandoned warehouse area out of town and searched for the warehouse where the Rintamas could be hiding.

We walked around when we heard low noises of punches and pained yelps from a warehouse. We looked at each other before splitting up, preparing ourselves to launch our surprise attack.

I rushed to the back of the warehouse and found a way in through a door. I walked soundlessly on the platforms and peeked down to see the Rintamas use Yugi as sandbag. The small boy was held up by being tied around his wrists to a hook. He had several nasty bruises on his face and he looked ready to faint any moment.

I walked my way down when Joey made his grand appearance, surprising the Rintama guys.

"Joey", Hirotani said in surprise.

Joey walked ahead, "Yugi. Didn't I say quite clearly to ignore me? You don't leave me a choice. I will finish it."

"Joey-kun!" Yugi exclaimed.

Joey held up his yo-yo and threw it towards Yugi, but changed course in the last second, hitting one of the Rintama grunts sending him straight into a pile of cardboard boxes.

"Joey! What are you doing?!" Hirotani asked.

Joey snorted, "That's my line. If I joined you, you said you'd keep your hands off my buddies."

Yugi gasped in relief, "I knew it... Joey-kun did it for us."

I crept in the darkness, getting closer to Yugi when the Rintama grunts surrounded Joey with their yo-yos. But it didn't stop Joey from advancing, taking every hit of the yo-yos.

Hirotani threw his sharp spiky yo-yo at Joey who countered back with his own. The two yo-yos collided and bounced back. Hirotani ducked to avoid his yo-yo; it flew past his head and past the ropes that held Yugi tied to the hook. When the ropes were cut and Yugi free, I caught him before he could fall on the ground.

Yugi looked at me in shock, "Aurora-chan?!"

I nodded with a small smile, "_Hai_."

Joey smirked victoriously, "Looks like your brutish strength has a use."

The biggest Rintama grunt was about to knock him down from behind when Makoto jumped down from the platform above us and kicked the grunt right on his face. The grunt fell backwards, grabbing his face as blood ran out from his nose.

"What is this?!" Hirotani spat.

"What do you think, punk?" Makoto glared at he stood back to back with Joey. "We're gonna take you all down and teach you some manners!"

Joey put his yo-yo in the pocket of his pants, preparing himself to fight. "No weapons, no yo-yos. Just our fists."

I held Yugi close to me when I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Tristan kneel down next to me.

"Aura. Yugi", Tristan said, his face covered in sweat.

I scooped Yugi into Tristan's arms, "Look after him."

Tristan looked confused, "Wait, what are you-"

He couldn't finish his sentence when I stood up and charged towards the clown Rintama guy. He turned slowly towards me and gasped when I hit him hard with a knife hand. He fell down unconscious as I stood there in the middle with a karate pose.

Makoto and Joey charged at the other grunts as I helped them out to take down the grunts. But Hirotani was skillful to avoid all our incoming moves. He disappeared from my sight for a second before I felt someone grab me from behind and jerked me into a hard chest. The arm held me hard as I felt a sharp thing press itself against my throat.

"Stop!" Hirotani shouted, making Makoto and Joey stop fighting the now unconscious grunts.

Makoto's eyes widened in fear, "Sis!"

"For being so idiotic to try facing me, you will all now watch this pretty face being decapitated", Hirotani said with a dark voice.

I struggled against his grip trying to get out, but he just pressed the knife deeper into my throat. I could feel some blood run down from the cut.

"Aurora-chan!" Yugi shouted worriedly.

"Let her go, Hirotani!" Tristan growled.

"You dirty cheater!" Joey spat.

Makoto didn't try to advance because he knew Hirotani would kill me immediately.

I took a deep breath before collecting all my strength and head-butted Hirotani on his chin. That caught him off guard, losing his grip on me and the knife falling out of his hand. Joey immediately rushed forward and punched Hirotani in the face as Makoto attended me. I was taking deep breath when I got flashbacks of _that_ incident; this situation reminded me so much of _that_ incident.

When I realized it was all quiet now, I looked up to see all five Rintama boys down and knocked out. Joey smirked victoriously as he rubbed off the invisible dirt from his fist. Then we heard the sirens of the police cars outside of the warehouse.

"Never a moment too early", Joey commented, making all of us nod in agreement.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Everything was finally back to normal; the Rintama guys were arrested for their rough actions and Joey had returned to school. Yamato had made such a big fuss about the cut on my throat, but he had calmed down when I assured him I was fine. Now my neck was wrapped in bandage since there weren't any Band-Aids big enough to over the cut.

"You developed a new yo-yo tech?" Anzu asked Joey.

Said boy nodded with the yo-yo in his hand, "It's a great one that I haven't shown anyone yet."

"I'm so excited", Miho giggled.

"I look forward to seeing it", Yugi nodded.

Anzu didn't look so happy about it. "I have a bad feeling."

"So do I", Makoto nodded.

"Look!" Joey exclaimed. "Special loop! In the sky!"

He threw the yo-yo around him violently. So violently it made my, Anzu and Miho's skirts ruffle, exposing our panties... Well, not mine because of my short shorts.

Joey got extremely surprised as he got tangled in the strap of the yo-yo, some nose blood was seen from the nostrils. Tristan screeched in surprise as Yugi covered his eyes while Miho and Anzu held down their skirts. But Makoto... He went into over-protective mode. He and Anzu grabbed the closest chairs and began chasing Joey, throwing profanities at the poor boy while swinging the chairs in the air.

"Joey! You scum!" Anzu shouted.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Joey retorted.

"Get your sorry ass back here and face the punishment as a man!" Makoto yelled furiously.


End file.
